A SMALL mammal older than Tyrannousaurus rex with reptilian features and long poison spurs may be one of our most ancient relatives, scientists claim.

The fossil remains of a Megaconus, about the size of a large squirrel, have been unearthed in China, proving early proto-mammals existed 165 million years ago in the Jurassic period, 100 million years before the appearance of dinosaur king Tyrannosaurus rex.

The well-preserved skeleton found in Inner Mongolia still shows signs of the animal’s fur.

Rodent-like teeth mean the creature was able to chew tough plant material as well as feed on insects and worms.

We cannot say Megaconus is our direct ancestor but it certainly looks like a great-great-grand uncle

Professor Zhe-Xi Luo

Scientists believe Megaconus moved like an armadillo and was unable to flee predators by climbing trees.

But it may not have been as defenceless as it seems – as on each heel it had a long keratinous spur that was probably poisonous.

Professor Zhe-Xi Luo, of University of Chicago who led the description of the creature the journal Nature, said: “We cannot say Megaconus is our direct ancestor but it certainly looks like a great-great-grand uncle.”